SEPTEMBER 27, 2022:
The Hughes County Commission has come up with a budget for 2023, but it’s going to take some reserve funds to make it work.
Commissioners were looking at a $4+ million deficit last week (Sept. 19, 2022) when they asked department heads to cut 20%, just to see what services and jobs would be lost in order to balance the budget.
Commissioner Connie Hohn says the adjusted numbers show a $460,000+ shortage.
Rather than trying to cut 20%, which Sheriff Patrick Callahan says would be mostly staff, he looked for ways to add 20% more revenue.
The Hughes County Jail could hold 46 state prisoners each day bringing in $95 per inmate, per day for a potential revenue stream of around $1.6 million dollars. Callahan says there are also agreements in place to house federal prisoners and prisoners from other counties– as long as Hughes County can maintain the appropriate number of staff to care for them.
Commissioner Randy Vance, who is an appraiser by trade, says Hughes County is missing out on potential tax revenue because of inaccurate property valuations.
The budget was approved during a special commission meeting held last night (Sept. 26, 2022).
SEPTEMBER 20, 2022:
The Hughes County Commission is going to have to make some major cuts in order to put together the county’s 2023 budget.
Commission Chairman Randy Brown says they’re looking at a $4+ million deficit.
Brown says seeing what cutting 20% from the county’s budget would actually look like will provide some direction for them.
Commissioner Connie Hohn says they want to take care of their employees.
County offices aren’t the only places the Hughes County Commission is considering making cuts to. Brown says their commission salaries are on the table as well.
Brown says they need to get more income from the Hughes County Jail.
The special budget meeting will be Monday (Sept. 26, 2022) at 6:15pm at the Hughes County Courthouse.
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